Pewbeam Documentation

Pewbeam is a desktop app that detects Bible verses in real time during sermons and displays them on screen. It listens to the sermon, identifies scripture references — whether quoted directly or paraphrased — and presents the matching verse on your broadcast output (NDI, HDMI, or in-app preview).

[Screenshot: Pewbeam dashboard overview]

---

How Pewbeam works

Pewbeam combines speech-to-text transcription with AI-powered Bible verse detection. Here's what happens under the hood:

1. Audio capture — Pewbeam captures audio from your selected microphone or audio interface
2. Live transcription — The audio is transcribed in real time using Deepgram (online) or MLX-Whisper (offline, macOS only)
3. Verse detection — The transcript is analyzed for Bible references and scripture-related content using two strategies:
   • Direct reference detection — Catches explicit references like "John 3:16" or "Romans chapter 8 verse 28" using pattern matching
   • Semantic search — Catches paraphrased or quoted scripture using AI embeddings and FAISS vector search across 31,000+ verses
4. Display — Detected verses appear in your queue and can be sent to your broadcast output with a single click

The entire pipeline runs in under a second — from spoken word to verse on screen.

---

Getting started

Installation

Download the latest version of Pewbeam from pewbeam.com. Pewbeam is available for macOS and Windows.

Run the installer and follow the prompts. On first launch, Pewbeam will set up its internal components (embedding server, Bible translations, etc.). This may take a minute.

Your first session

When Pewbeam opens, you'll see the main dashboard with six panels:

[Screenshot: Dashboard layout with labeled panels]

To get started:

1. Click Start Transcript in the Live Transcript panel
2. Select your microphone when prompted (or set it in Settings beforehand)
3. Start speaking or play a sermon — detected verses will appear in the AI Detections panel
4. Click the play icon on any detected verse to send it to Preview
5. Press L or click Go Live to broadcast it

Tip: Pewbeam includes an interactive tutorial on first launch. You can restart it anytime from Settings > Help > Restart Tutorial.

Onboarding tutorial

On your first launch, Pewbeam walks you through each panel with an interactive guided tour. The tutorial highlights key areas of the interface and explains what each one does. If you skipped it or want a refresher, go to Settings > Help > Restart Tutorial.

There's also a separate Theme Designer Tutorial that walks you through customizing how verses look on screen.

---

Transcription

Pewbeam transcribes sermon audio in real time and uses the transcript to detect Bible verses. There are two transcription modes:

Online mode (Deepgram)

The default mode. Audio is streamed to Deepgram's cloud service for transcription using their Nova-3 model. This provides the best accuracy and lowest latency.

• Requires an internet connection
• Available on all plans

Offline mode (MLX-Whisper)

For situations where internet access is unreliable or not available. Uses Apple's MLX framework to run the Whisper Large V3 Turbo model locally on your Mac.

• Requires Apple Silicon (M1 or later)
• Available on Plus and Core plans
• No internet required during use

Switching between online and offline

You can switch transcription modes in Settings > Transcription Mode. The toggle is only available when transcription is not active — stop any active session first, then switch.

When you switch modes:

• Pewbeam restarts its transcription pipeline with the new provider
• A toast notification confirms the mode change
• Your microphone selection and gain settings carry over

Note: Offline mode (MLX-Whisper) is only available on macOS with Apple Silicon (M1 or later) and requires a Plus or Core plan. If you're on Windows or an Intel Mac, online mode is your only option.

Internet and network requirements

Online transcription (Deepgram) streams audio to the cloud and requires a stable internet connection throughout the session. Here's what to know:

• Minimum speed — A basic broadband connection (1 Mbps upload) is sufficient. Audio streaming uses very little bandwidth.
• Latency matters more than speed — Low-latency connections produce faster transcription results. Wired ethernet is better than WiFi.
• WiFi considerations — WiFi works fine in most cases, but can cause occasional delays if the signal is weak or the network is congested (e.g., during a service with hundreds of phones on the same network).
• Connection drops — If the connection is interrupted briefly, Pewbeam reconnects automatically. If audio is being captured but no transcription returns for 15+ seconds, a warning appears: "Connection unstable — transcription may be delayed."
• Offline fallback — If your internet goes down entirely during a service, online transcription will stop. Manual Bible search and verse display continue to work since they run locally. If you have a Mac with Apple Silicon and a Plus/Core plan, you can switch to offline mode.

Best practice: If your church has unreliable internet, consider using offline transcription or keeping a mobile hotspot as a backup. You can also pre-load verses in the queue before the service starts so verse display works regardless of connectivity.

Starting and stopping transcription

Click Start Transcribing in the Live Transcript panel to begin. The button changes to Stop Transcribing while active. During startup, you'll see a brief "Starting..." state with a spinner.

When transcription is active:

• The audio level meter in the panel header shows real-time input levels (green → yellow → red)
• An animated waveform appears while Pewbeam is listening for speech
• Transcribed text appears in real time with a pulsing cursor at the end of the current line
• Detected Bible verses are highlighted in yellow/amber directly in the transcript

When you stop transcription, the session is automatically saved to your transcript history (if it contains text).

[Screenshot: Live Transcript panel during active transcription]

Microphone setup

Select your audio input device in Settings > Microphone. Pewbeam lists all available input devices and remembers your selection between sessions. Each device shows whether it's the system default.

You can also adjust the Input Gain slider (0–100%) if the audio level is too low or too high. Changes take effect immediately, even during active transcription.

Best practice: Use a sound card or audio interface. For the best transcription accuracy, connect a USB audio interface (like a Focusrite Scarlett or Behringer UMC) to your church's mixing board and use that as your input device in Pewbeam. This gives you a clean, direct audio feed from the pastor's microphone — no room noise, echo, or background chatter. The difference in transcription quality compared to using a laptop microphone is dramatic.

[Screenshot: Audio settings with microphone selection]

Confidence indicators

Each transcription chunk shows a confidence score indicating how certain the speech-to-text engine is about the transcription:

• High (green, 80%+) — Very accurate transcription
• Medium (yellow, 60–80%) — Mostly accurate, some words may be off
• Low (red, below 60%) — Noisy audio or unclear speech

Connection health

When using online transcription, Pewbeam monitors the connection to Deepgram. If audio is being captured but no transcription is returned for 15+ seconds, a warning appears: "Connection unstable — transcription may be delayed."

Free plan limits

The free plan includes 60 minutes of transcription per week. You'll see a warning at 55 minutes ("STT time running low — 5 minutes remaining"). When the limit is reached, transcription stops automatically but manual Bible search continues to work. The limit resets every Sunday.

Idle timeout

If no speech is detected for 10 minutes, Pewbeam automatically pauses transcription to save resources. A toast notification appears with a Resume button to restart immediately.

---

Bible verse detection

Pewbeam detects Bible verses in two ways, and combines the results for maximum accuracy.

Direct reference detection

When the speaker says something like "Turn to John chapter 3 verse 16" or "Let's read Romans 8:28", Pewbeam picks up the reference immediately using pattern matching. This works for:

• Standard references: "John 3:16", "Genesis 1:1"
• Spoken references: "Romans chapter 8 verse 28"
• Abbreviated books: "Matt 5:9", "Rev 21:4"
• Context-aware: If the speaker says "verse 10" after referencing James 4, Pewbeam resolves it as James 4:10

Detection is near-instant (under 5ms).

Semantic search (AI detection)

When the speaker quotes or paraphrases scripture without giving a reference — for example, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son" — Pewbeam uses AI to find the matching verse.

The system converts the spoken text into an embedding (a numerical representation of meaning) and searches a pre-built index of 31,000+ Bible verses. Results are re-ranked using word overlap, distinctive biblical terms, and word order to improve accuracy.

Semantic search takes 200–400ms for new queries, but common queries are cached for near-instant results on repeat.

How results appear

Detected verses show up in the AI Detections panel on the bottom right. Each detection shows:

• The verse text and reference
• A confidence score — how sure Pewbeam is about the match (see below)
• A source badge — whether the detection came from a direct reference, semantic search, or both
• A timestamp showing when it was detected

New detections appear at the top of the list. If you scroll away, a badge shows how many new detections have arrived, and a button lets you jump back to the top.

From here you can:

• Click the play icon to display the verse immediately
• Click the + icon to add it to the queue for later

[Screenshot: AI Detections panel with detected verses]

Confidence scores

Every detected verse has a confidence score from 0% to 100% that indicates how likely the detection is correct:

• Direct references (e.g., "John 3:16") — Score 90–100%. These are near-certain matches.
• Semantic matches (e.g., quoted scripture) — Score 35–89%. Higher scores mean the spoken text more closely matches the verse content.
• High confidence (80%+) — In Auto mode, these verses are automatically queued and displayed
• Low confidence (below 35%) — These are filtered out and not shown

The confidence threshold in the Broadcast panel (default 30%) controls the minimum score for a verse to appear in Auto mode. You can raise this if you're getting too many false detections, or lower it if Pewbeam is missing valid verses.

Tip: Direct references are almost always correct. If the speaker says "John 3:16", Pewbeam will detect it with very high confidence. Semantic detections are more useful when the speaker quotes or paraphrases scripture without giving the reference.

---

Bible search

The Scripture Search panel at the bottom left lets you look up verses manually. There are two search modes, each designed for a different use case. Toggle between them with the Tab key.

Book mode

What it's for: Looking up a specific verse when you know the reference (e.g., "John 3:16").

Type a book name, chapter, and verse to navigate directly. Pewbeam autocompletes book names as you type.

• Type "John" → select "John" → select chapter 3 → browse all verses in the chapter
• Type "Ps 23" → jumps to Psalm 23
• Type "Romans 8:28" → goes directly to that verse

Once you're viewing a chapter, use number keys (0–9) to jump to a specific verse. Search results highlight matching keywords in the verse text.

Context mode

What it's for: Finding a verse when you don't know the exact reference — searching by topic, theme, quote, or paraphrase.

Type a phrase, question, or topic. For example:

• "love your neighbor"
• "faith without works"
• "what does Jesus say about worry"
• "the Lord is my shepherd"

Pewbeam uses the same AI-powered semantic search as the automatic detection system to find matching verses. This means it understands meaning, not just keywords — searching "God's love for humanity" will find John 3:16 even though those exact words aren't in the verse.

Switching between modes

Press Tab to toggle between Book mode and Context mode. The search bar label changes to show which mode is active. You can switch modes at any time without losing your search history.

Displaying a verse from search

• Press Enter to display the selected verse in Preview
• Press Enter twice quickly to display it and enable live sync (sends it to broadcast immediately)
• Click the + icon to add it to the queue for later

Supported translations

Pewbeam supports six Bible translations. Set your primary translation in Settings > Translation.

You can switch translations at any time. The change takes effect immediately for both search results and verse display.

---

Queue

The Queue panel (top right) holds verses that are ready to be displayed. Think of it as a playlist for your verse presentations.

Verses can be added to the queue from:

• AI Detections (click the + icon)
• Scripture Search (click the + icon)
• Auto-queuing (verses with high confidence are automatically added in Auto mode)

Queue actions

• Click the play icon on any queued verse to display it immediately
• Click the X to remove a verse from the queue
• Use Clear All to empty the queue
• The currently live verse is highlighted in the queue

---

Display modes

Pewbeam has two display modes, configurable in Settings > Display Mode. The display mode controls whether detected verses are shown on screen automatically or only when you choose.

Auto mode

Pewbeam automatically displays the highest-confidence detected verse on your broadcast output. When a verse is detected with a confidence score above the threshold, it goes straight to display after a short cooldown.

• Cooldown period — A 2.5-second delay between verse changes prevents rapid flickering
• Confidence threshold — Only verses above the threshold are displayed (configurable in the Broadcast panel, default 30%)
• Best for hands-off operation during informal services or rehearsals

Manual mode

Nothing goes to the broadcast output until you explicitly send it. Detected verses still appear in the AI Detections panel and queue, but you decide which ones to display and when.

• Click the play icon on any verse to display it
• Press Enter in the Bible search to send a verse to Preview
• Best for important services where you want full control

Tip: You can switch between Auto and Manual mode at any time during a session from Settings. Many teams start in Manual mode for Sunday services and use Auto mode for Wednesday Bible studies.

---

Preview and live output

The top center of the dashboard shows two side-by-side views that work together: Preview (left) and Live Output (right).

[Screenshot: Preview and Live Output panels side by side]

Preview

The Preview panel is your staging area. When you select a verse from the AI Detections panel, queue, or Bible search, it appears here first. This lets you see exactly how the verse will look on screen — with your current theme applied — before your audience sees it.

Live Output

The Live Output panel shows what's actually being broadcast to your NDI, HDMI, or other output right now. This is what your audience sees.

The Go Live toggle

The Go Live toggle (or press L) controls the connection between Preview and Live Output:

• Go Live ON — Preview and Live Output are synced. Any verse you send to Preview immediately goes to broadcast. This is the most common workflow during a service.
• Go Live OFF — Preview and Live Output are independent. You can stage and review verses in Preview without changing what your audience sees. When you're ready, turn Go Live on to push the current preview to broadcast.

The Go Live state is shown in the Live Output panel header. When active, you'll see a green indicator.

Broadcast panel controls

Open the Broadcast panel from the broadcast icon in the top bar for additional controls:

• ON AIR indicator — A pulsing red badge shows when output is actively broadcasting
• Opacity — Control the verse overlay opacity (0–100%), useful when compositing over video
• Confidence Threshold — Set the minimum confidence score (30–95%) for auto-displayed verses. Higher values mean fewer but more accurate detections are shown automatically
• Theme selection — Choose which theme to use for the broadcast output
• Presentation controls — Next/Previous/Hide/Show buttons for manual verse navigation
• Force Theme Sync — Manually sync theme changes if the output shows stale styling

The Broadcast panel also displays the HTTP API and OSC control URLs for external integration.

---

Themes

Themes control how verses look on screen — fonts, colors, backgrounds, positioning, and effects.

Built-in themes

Pewbeam includes built-in themes ready to use:

• Selah — Image background with gold accents
• Eden — Gradient background with green accents

Additional themes are available on the Plus and Core plans. Built-in themes can't be edited directly, but you can duplicate them and customize the copy.

Theme Designer

Create and edit custom themes with the visual theme designer. Open it from the paintbrush icon in the top bar.

[Screenshot: Theme Designer with three panels]

The designer has three panels:

Theme Library (left panel)

Browse and manage all your themes. Actions available:

• New — Create a new custom theme (based on the Eden template)
• Import — Import a theme from a JSON file
• Export All — Save all custom themes to a single JSON file
• Search — Find themes by name
• Filter — Show All, Pinned, or Custom themes

Each theme card has a dropdown menu with these actions:

• Edit — Open in the designer canvas
• Set as Default — Make this the default theme for new presentations
• Assign to Main Output — Use this theme on your main display/projector
• Assign to Alternate Output — Use this theme on your secondary NDI output
• Pin / Unpin — Pin a theme for quick access
• Rename — Change the theme name (max 24 characters)
• Duplicate — Create a copy of the theme
• Export — Save this single theme as a JSON file
• Delete — Remove the theme (built-in themes can't be deleted)

Theme cards show badges for their status: Active, Editing, Main, Alternate, or a star for pinned themes.

Design Canvas (center panel)

A live 1:1 preview of your theme at 1920×1080 resolution. What you see here is exactly what will appear on your broadcast output.

• Zoom in/out — Use the zoom controls in the top-left corner
• Fit to View — Auto-fit the frame to your canvas size
• Pan — Click the hand icon to drag around the canvas
• Select elements — Click on the verse text, reference, or translation to select it for editing in the Properties Panel

Properties Panel (right panel)

The Properties Panel has three tabs: Text, Background, and Layout.

Text tab — Style the selected text element (verse, reference, or translation):

• Font — Choose from 1000+ system fonts with a searchable dropdown
• Font Weight — Thin through Black (9 weight options, availability varies by font)
• Font Size — 8–200px with slider and manual input
• Line Height — 0.5× to 3.0× multiplier
• Letter Spacing — -20px to 50px
• Text Color — Color picker with hex input and opacity slider
• Alignment — Horizontal (left, center, right, justify) and vertical (top, middle, bottom)
• Text Transform — None, UPPERCASE, lowercase, or Capitalize
• Text Decoration — None, underline, overline, or line-through
• Shadows — Add up to 5 shadow layers, each with offset X/Y, blur, and color
• Stroke — Text outline with width, color, and position (outside, center, inside)

Background tab — Set the theme background:

• Solid Color — Single color with opacity
• Gradient — Linear, radial, or conic gradient with unlimited color stops. Each stop has a position (0–100%), color, and opacity. Adjust the gradient angle for linear and conic types.
• Image — Upload a background image with these controls:
  • Fit mode: Cover (fill and crop), Contain (show full image), or Fill (stretch)
  • Position X/Y: Adjust where the image sits (for Cover and Contain modes)
  • Scale: 10–500%
  • Blur: 0–100px
  • Opacity: 0–100%
  • Color overlay: Optional tint color with opacity

Layout tab — Control positioning and sizing:

• Content Area — Width and height as a percentage of the screen (10–100%)
• Text Area — Width and height as a percentage of the content area
• Padding — Top, right, bottom, left padding in pixels
• Element Spacing — Space between verse and reference, and between reference and translation (0–100px)
• Layout Mode — Vertical stack, horizontal (side by side), or subtitle overlay
• Reference Position — Show the scripture reference above or below the verse text
• Verse Number Superscript — Show verse numbers before the text (EasyWorship style) with adjustable size and spacing

Saving and discarding changes

When you edit a theme, changes are saved as a draft. An "Unsaved changes" indicator appears in the top bar. You have two options:

• Save Theme — Commits your changes and sets the theme as active
• Discard — Reverts all changes since your last save

The designer uses deep comparison to detect actual changes — if you change a value and change it back, it won't count as unsaved.

Exporting and importing themes

Export a single theme: Open the dropdown menu on any theme card and click Export. The theme is saved as a JSON file named {theme-name}-theme.json.

Export all themes: Click Export All in the Theme Library header. All custom themes are saved to a single file named pewbeam-themes-YYYY-MM-DD.json.

Import a theme: Click Import in the Theme Library header and select a JSON file. The imported theme appears in your custom themes list.

This is useful for sharing themes between devices, backing up your designs, or distributing a church's brand theme to multiple Pewbeam installations.

Free plan limitations

Free plan users can use the 2 built-in themes (Selah and Eden) and create 1 custom theme. Plus and Core plans unlock all built-in themes and unlimited custom themes.

Tip: The theme designer has its own interactive tutorial. Access it from Settings > Help > Restart Theme Designer Tutorial.

---

Broadcast output

Pewbeam can send your verse display to external broadcast software and displays using several output methods.

NDI

NDI (Network Device Interface) lets you send Pewbeam's output to any NDI-compatible software on your network — OBS, vMix, Resolume, ProPresenter, and more.

When enabled, Pewbeam appears as an NDI source named "Pewbeam main" (or "Pewbeam alternate" for the second channel). Simply add it as a source in your broadcast software.

• Supports alpha transparency for overlays
• Configurable FPS (24, 30, or 60)
• Resolution options: 720p, 1080p, 4K

HDMI

Send your verse display directly to a projector or external monitor via HDMI.

1. Connect your external display
2. Open the Broadcast panel
3. Select your target monitor from the dropdown
4. Click to enable HDMI output

Pewbeam opens a fullscreen, borderless window on the selected display. It won't open on your primary (laptop) display to prevent accidentally covering your workspace.

Tip: Use the Identify Monitors feature in the broadcast panel to see which monitor is which before enabling output.

[Screenshot: Broadcast panel with output configuration]

Multiple output channels

On the Core plan, Pewbeam supports up to 4 independent output channels — for example, an in-room projector, a livestream overlay, a foyer screen, and a stream archive feed.

Each channel can have its own theme, or mirror another channel's theme if you want the same look across multiple outputs.

---

Remote control

Pewbeam can be controlled remotely using two protocols, useful for integration with broadcast controllers and mixing consoles.

OSC (Open Sound Control)

Pewbeam listens for OSC messages on UDP port 8000. Supported commands:

HTTP API

Pewbeam runs a local HTTP server on port 8080 for REST-based control.

Control commands support: next, prev, show, hide, opacity, confidence, on_air, and theme.

Note: The OSC and HTTP API URLs are shown in the Broadcast panel for easy reference.

---

Sermon notes

Generate structured notes from your sermon transcripts using AI. Pewbeam analyzes the full transcript and produces an organized summary that follows the sermon's natural flow.

Available on Plus and Core plans.

What's included in sermon notes

Pewbeam's AI extracts and organizes:

• Title — A descriptive sermon title generated from the content
• Topic — One-line subject description
• Structured sections — Topical sections that follow the sermon's natural progression
• Key points — Main ideas with supporting details and examples
• Scripture references — All verses mentioned, shown inline where they were cited
• Quotes — Notable quotes from the sermon, woven into the relevant sections
• Practical applications — Integrated into the sections where they were discussed

The AI only uses content explicitly stated in the sermon — it never invents verses or fabricates quotes.

Generating notes from a single transcript

1. Open Transcript History (accessible from the transcript panel)
2. Find the transcript you want
3. Click the sparkle icon (✨) on the transcript card
4. Choose your export format:
   • PDF Document — Formatted PDF with headings and sections
   • Word Document (.docx) — Microsoft Word format
   • Markdown (.md) — Plain text markdown
5. Notes are generated in about 6–7 seconds
6. A save dialog opens — choose where to save the file

[Screenshot: Sermon notes sparkle icon and format dropdown]

Generating notes from multiple transcripts

For sermons that span multiple recording sessions:

1. In Transcript History, check the boxes next to 2 or more transcripts
2. Click Generate Notes in the bulk actions bar that appears
3. Choose your export format
4. Pewbeam combines the transcripts in chronological order (with part numbers) and generates a single set of notes

This is useful when a sermon is split across multiple recordings — for example, before and after a worship segment.

Export format details

PDF — Professional document with title, topic, date, divider lines, section headings (bold), main bullets, and indented sub-bullets. Automatic page breaks.

DOCX — Microsoft Word document with proper heading styles (H1 for title, H3 for sections), bullet formatting at two indent levels, and metadata.

Markdown — Clean markdown with # Title, ### Section Headings, and - Bullet / - Sub-bullet formatting. Includes a generation timestamp.

---

Transcript history

Pewbeam automatically saves every transcription session to your local device. Access your history from the transcript panel.

What's saved

Each session records:

• Full transcript text — The complete transcribed text
• Date and time — When the session was recorded
• Duration — How long the session lasted
• Word count — Total words transcribed
• Average confidence — Overall transcription accuracy
• STT provider — Whether Deepgram or MLX-Whisper was used

Sessions are saved automatically when you stop transcription (as long as the transcript contains text). They're stored locally on your device.

Browsing history

Transcript history shows 20 sessions per page with pagination. Each card displays:

• Date and time (e.g., "Jan 15, 2026 | 2:30 PM")
• A preview of the transcript text (first 2 lines)
• Word count and duration

Individual transcript actions

Each transcript card has three action buttons:

• Download (↓ icon) — Export the raw transcript as PDF, DOCX, or Markdown
• Sermon Notes (✨ icon) — Generate AI sermon notes (Plus and Core plans)
• Delete (trash icon) — Permanently delete the transcript

Bulk actions

Select multiple transcripts using the checkboxes, then use the bulk actions bar:

• Select All — Check all transcripts on the current page
• Download — Export all selected transcripts (single file for 1, directory picker for 2+)
• Generate Notes — Combine selected transcripts into one sermon notes document
• Delete — Delete all selected transcripts

Exporting transcripts

Transcripts can be exported independently of sermon notes. The export includes the raw transcript text with optional metadata (date, duration, word count, confidence score, STT provider).

Available formats:

• PDF Document (.pdf)
• Word Document (.docx)
• Markdown (.md)

Files are named transcript-YYYY-MM-DD-HH-MM.{format}.

---

Watermark

On the free plan, a small "Pewbeam" watermark appears in the bottom-right corner of your verse display output. The watermark is visible in both the preview and the live broadcast.

Upgrading to any paid plan (Plus or Core) removes the watermark completely.

---

Settings

Access settings from the gear icon in the top bar.

Display settings

• Display Mode — Auto or Manual (see Display modes)
• Primary Translation — Choose from KJV, NKJV, NIV, NLT, ESV, NASB

Transcription settings

• Transcription Mode — Online (Deepgram) or Offline (MLX-Whisper, macOS only)
• Microphone — Select your input device from a dropdown of all available audio inputs
• Input Gain — Adjust microphone sensitivity (0–100%)

License

• View your current plan (Free, Plus, or Core) with a color-coded badge
• Enter a license key to activate or upgrade your plan
• Deactivate your current license
• View your device fingerprint (used for license activation)

Help

• Restart Tutorial — Re-run the interactive dashboard tour
• Restart Theme Designer Tutorial — Re-run the theme designer tour
• Keyboard Shortcuts — Quick reference of all shortcuts
• Documentation — Link to this documentation
• Contact Support — Link to support
• Usage Analytics — Toggle anonymous usage data sharing (opt-in, no sermon content collected)
• App Version — Shows the current installed version

Send Feedback

Report issues or suggest features directly from within the app. Feedback automatically includes your app version, platform, and license tier to help with troubleshooting.

Updates

Pewbeam checks for updates automatically on startup. When a new version is available, a notification appears with the option to update.

---

Keyboard shortcuts

Important: Keyboard shortcuts only work when you're not typing in a text field. If shortcuts aren't responding, press Escape first to exit the text input, then try the shortcut again.

---

Plans and pricing

---

Best practices

Audio setup

• Use a direct audio feed. Connect a USB audio interface to your church's mixing board for the cleanest audio. Pewbeam's transcription accuracy improves dramatically with a direct feed vs. a laptop microphone picking up room audio.
• Position matters. If you must use a microphone, place the laptop as close to the speaker system or pulpit as possible, away from the congregation.
• Adjust gain. Use the input gain slider in Settings to make sure the audio level meter shows green/yellow activity, not clipping into red.

During a service

• Start transcription early. Begin transcribing before the sermon starts so Pewbeam captures context from the opening prayer and scripture reading.
• Use Manual mode for important services. If you want full control over what appears on screen, switch to Manual display mode. Auto mode is great for rehearsal or informal settings.
• Keep the queue ready. If you know the sermon outline, pre-load key verses in the queue using Bible search before the service starts.
• Watch the AI Detections panel. Even in Manual mode, the AI detections panel shows you what Pewbeam is picking up. It's a helpful second pair of eyes.

Theme design

• Test on your actual display. Colors and fonts can look different on a projector vs. your laptop screen. Use HDMI preview or NDI to check your theme on the real output before the service.
• Keep it readable. Large fonts, high contrast, and simple backgrounds work best in a church setting. Avoid busy background images that compete with the verse text.
• Use the built-in themes as starting points. Duplicate a built-in theme and modify it rather than starting from scratch.

Network and connectivity

• Use wired internet when possible. A wired ethernet connection is more reliable than WiFi for consistent, low-latency transcription. This is especially important in large venues where WiFi congestion from attendees' devices can cause delays.
• Have a backup plan. If your church's internet is unreliable, consider offline transcription (macOS with Apple Silicon, Plus/Core plan), a mobile hotspot as a backup, or pre-loading key verses in the queue before the service.
• Test before the service. Run a quick transcription test 10–15 minutes before the service starts to confirm the connection is working.

Performance

• Close unnecessary apps. Pewbeam runs a local AI server for verse detection. For the smoothest performance, close memory-heavy applications during use.

---

Troubleshooting

Transcription isn't working

• Check that your microphone is selected in Settings > Microphone
• Make sure the audio level meter shows activity when you speak
• If using online mode, verify your internet connection
• Try restarting transcription (stop and start again)

Verses aren't being detected

• Ensure transcription is active and working (check the Live Transcript panel for text)
• Speak clearly and at a normal pace — very fast speech may reduce accuracy
• Check that the embedding server is running: the app shows a status indicator on startup
• Direct references ("John 3:16") are detected faster and more reliably than paraphrased quotes

NDI output not appearing in OBS/vMix

• Make sure NDI output is enabled in the Broadcast panel
• Both devices must be on the same network
• Check that your broadcast software has NDI plugin/support installed
• Look for "Pewbeam main" in your software's source list
• Try disabling your firewall temporarily to test

HDMI output not working

• Verify the external display is connected and detected (check Identify Monitors)
• Pewbeam won't open HDMI output on your primary display — make sure you're selecting an external monitor
• Try disconnecting and reconnecting the HDMI cable

App is slow or unresponsive

• Close other memory-heavy applications
• Check Settings > Help for the app version — make sure you're on the latest
• Restart Pewbeam
• On older hardware, consider reducing broadcast FPS from 60 to 24 in the Broadcast panel

Verse display looks different from preview

• The preview panel on your laptop uses your laptop's display settings. The actual output (NDI/HDMI) may render differently due to resolution, color profile, or scaling differences.
• Always test your theme on the actual output display before a service.

---

FAQ

Can I use Pewbeam without internet? Yes. Bible search and verse display work entirely offline. Transcription requires internet in online mode (Deepgram), but you can use offline transcription (MLX-Whisper) on macOS with Apple Silicon. The free plan uses online transcription only.

Does Pewbeam work with any Bible translation? Pewbeam currently supports six translations: KJV, NKJV, NIV, NLT, ESV, and NASB. Additional translations may be added in future updates.

Can I use Pewbeam with ProPresenter/EasyWorship/other church software? Yes. Use NDI output to send Pewbeam's verse display to any NDI-compatible software. You can also use the OSC protocol for remote control integration, or HDMI for direct display output.

Is my sermon data stored or sent anywhere? Sermon transcripts are stored locally on your device. Online transcription audio is processed by Deepgram and is not stored. Sermon notes generation sends transcript text to OpenAI for processing. Anonymous usage analytics can be toggled off in Settings.

What happens when my free plan limit is reached? Live transcription pauses, but manual Bible search and verse display continue to work normally. The limit resets weekly.

Can multiple people control Pewbeam during a service? On the Core plan, you can use Pewbeam on multiple devices. You can also use the HTTP API or OSC protocol to control Pewbeam from another device on the same network.

---

System requirements

macOS

• macOS 12 (Monterey) or later
• Apple Silicon (M1+) required for offline transcription
• Intel Macs supported for all other features

Windows

• Windows 10 (64-bit) or later
• x64 processor required (32-bit / x86 is not supported)

General

• 4 GB RAM minimum, 8 GB recommended
• 500 MB disk space
• Internet connection for online transcription and sermon notes